5 video games we can't wait to play

With this year's E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles having come and gone, it's now time to sweep away all the rumors and look ahead to the games we're most excited to start playing. Below are just a few, set for release over the next year, that will surely have a home in our living rooms.

Uncharted 4's single-player expansion

Uncharted 4's single-player DLC is widely expected to be well worth the wait. (Photo: Naughty Dog)

Naughty Dog's "Uncharted 4," currently 2016's highest-rated video game, has one more big adventure planned for fans. The studio is currently deep into development on a single-player game that will be downloadable content (also known as DLC), a kind of digital addendum that has proved popular in recent years.

Neil Druckmann, the Israeli-American creative director behind "The Last of Us" and its highly successful DLC, "The Last of Us: Left Behind," is also leading development on the "Uncharted 4" DLC. While the story hasn't yet been revealed, it's heavily hinted that it will likely revolve around the main characters of Sam and Sully and some grand adventure. With Druckmann's talent for weaving together stories that engage as much as they excite, a skill he picked up from formative years in Israel reading comic books and playing Sierra adventure games, there's no doubt this one will be worth waiting for.

The other reason we're anxious for "Uncharted 4's" DLC? It clears the way for Druckmann and his creative partner Bruce Straley to begin full development on "The Last of Us 2."

"We have brainstormed sequel ideas for 'The Last of Us,' and we’ve brainstormed ideas for new games, but all of that is put on ice right now while we work on 'Uncharted 4,'” Druckmann told Game Informer.

'Zelda: Breath of the Wild'

'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' is the latest installment in the franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. (Photo: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

At this year's E3 conference in Los Angeles, Nintendo hinged everything on blowing people away with a first real look at "Zelda: Breath of the Wild." They needn't have worried. Zelda's cell-shaded, gorgeous visuals and massive open-world environment completely bowled over skeptics and fans alike. As a testament to the strong word-of-mouth, attendees at E3 waited five hours in long lines just to have a crack at playing a short demo of the game.

"Breath of the Wild is the most ambitious game Nintendo has ever made, by a pretty wide margin, and if the rest of the game offers the kind of childlike joy that I got from the demo, then it won’t just be the Wii U’s best game, it won’t just be Game of the Year – this could be Game of the Generation," gushed game critic Dave Aubrey.

Despite a strong showing at E3, Nintendo would only say that "Breath of the Wild" would launch "sometime in 2017." If the new adventures of Link in the land of Hyrule do indeed turn out to be as stunning as what's hinted, consider us patiently awaiting greatness.

'Spider-Man'

'Spider-Man,' from Insomniac Games, is part of Marvel's new commitment to 'make epic games.' (Photo: Insomniac Games)

Of all the surprises at this year's E3 conference, perhaps none was more celebrated than Insomniac Games' "Spider-Man" title. Featuring gorgeous visuals and fast, fluid combat in an open-world environment, the game is the first test of Marvel Studio's mandate to "make epic games" to match its critically beloved film franchises.

"We are absolutely obsessed about [quality]," Jay Ong, Marvel's vice president of games, told Polygon. "That is our North Star. We always say 'Great is not good enough. We're going for truly epic.'"

Based on the short trailer, which Insomniac confirmed features all in-game footage, we know a little bit about what to expect from this latest Spidey adventure. For one, there may be multiple villains, with signs pointing to both the presence of the Green Goblin and a new character called Mr. Negative. Based on Spider-Man's new suit, which features a prominent white spider on the front, we also know that this game's storyline will be unique from the one being created by director Jon Watts, Israeli-American producer Avi Arad and American producer Amy Pascal for 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

"This isn’t the same Spider-Man you’ve met before, nor is our game based on the upcoming movie," American creative director Bryan Intihar said in a blog post. "This is a more seasoned Peter Parker who’s more masterful at fighting big crime in New York City. At the same time, he’s struggling to balance his absurdly chaotic personal life and career."

Insomniac Games has yet to reveal a release date for "Spider-Man," but we wouldn't be surprised if it's timed to coincide with Spider-Man's solo return to the big screen next summer.

'No Man's Sky'

The world of 'No Man's Sky' is so massive, Hello Games estimates that it would take gamers 500 billion years to fully explore everything. (Photo: Hello Games

Ever since its reveal at E3 2014, fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of Hello Games' adventure survival game "No Man's Sky." The unique title places gamers in the role of a planetary explorer discovering new worlds and lifeforms in an uncharted universe. Core to the game is its absolutely massive scale, with "No Man's Sky's" virtual universe including an estimated 18 quintillion planets.

This unprecedented virtual world is so large that, even if the game sells millions of copies, the studio believes 99.9% of the planets will never be explored. Unlike other online games with gigantic communities, Hello Games adds you'll likely never meet another explorer by pure chance.

"The chances of you being in the same space, the actual same planet at the same time as somebody, is something that might never happen," creator Sean Murray told Gamespot. "Certainly for an individual player, it might never happen, and it won't be your friends for sure."

We'll all be able to explore the final frontier this August when "No Man's Sky" is released for the Playstation 4 and PC.

'Star Wars Battlefront VR'

Leave it to "Star Wars" to get everyone extremely interested in trying out Sony's upcoming Playstation virtual reality headset.

Electronic Arts, in partnership with Criterion Games, announced "Star Wars Battlefront VR" at this year's E3 complete with a live orchestra to set the mood. While the footage shown was less than a minute, all you need to know is that a.) you'll take on the role of a rebel X-wing pilot fighting a mission against the Empire in outer space and b.) it looks incredible.

"Battlefront is going to be one of those games that will really show gamers what it means to be in the world of VR," John Koller, vice president of marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, told Fortune. "It’s very special."

The title is expected to launch alongside Sony's Playstation VR hardware on Oct. 13. Just how excited are gamers? Pre-orders for the Playstation VR last week sold out nationwide within minutes.